Kitty Tales
by miso berry
Summary: The last thing Momoi ever expected to discover was the fact that Haizaki Shougo, the roughest person on the boy's basketball team, was a cat fanatic. HaizakixMomoi


**A/N: For those of you who have been following me ever since I started writing stories for this fandom, then you should know that I ship absolutely anyone with Momoi. And obviously, Haizaki is no exception, hahaha. **

**I'll be genuinely surprised if I get any reviews for this story. Hopefully though, I can convert a few of you to this ship, even if it's just a tiny bit. **

Haizaki had never been a happy person. There was always _something_ in the world irritating him, and most of his stress was caused by the people on the basketball team. He wasn't even sure why he had decided to join the basketball team in the first place. He had simply seen the sign up table during the club day, and had recklessly resolved to go for it, reasoning that he had nothing better to do.

He sighed, and continued pacing around the back of the gym, kicking rocks along the way. Instead of going to practice, he had decided to venture off somewhere else. He felt too irritated at the moment to play basketball, and he knew that if he showed any other of his violent tendencies, then he would never hear the end of it from Akashi.

The silver-haired teen scowled as he gave one of the rocks a particularly harsh kick. He felt a bit satisfied, but when he heard a helpless "meow," his gait slowed, and he glanced around, confused. Eventually, he shrugged, contributing the sound merely to his imagination.

As he continued, he heard that "meow" once more, and finally decided to completely stop walking. Haizaki looked around again, frowning. Finally, his eyes came into contact with a small, gray-furred cat, staring curiously back at him. There was a large rock next to its paw, and Haizaki concluded that it was probably one of the rocks he had kicked out of his way.

Haizaki's definitely wasn't the nicest of people, but he also wasn't the type to neglect a possibly injured animal. Sighing, he neared the cat before squatting down in front of it. "…Did I hit you with this? My bad," he murmured, reaching over and awkwardly patting the cat's paw. It walked a bit, and Haizaki unwillingly felt thankful that it did not limp. _I just talked to a freaking cat_, he suddenly realized, glowering. _Maybe I really should've just gone to practice. _

The cat gently placed one of its paws on Haizaki's knee to grab his attention, and gazed up at him with a look that practically said, "please play with me." Haizaki rose an eyebrow at it. It stared back at him, unblinking.

Eventually, the male obliged, hesitantly scratching the cat behind the ears. It let out a content purr, and nuzzled into his lap. He carefully scratched it once more, watching as it arched into his hand. He couldn't help but feel amused with the cat's reactions, and he nearly smirked at it when it rubbed its cheek into his palm.

"…Shougo-kun?"

Haizaki jumped at the feminine voice before shoving the cat away from him and whipping around, fearing both his manhood and his reputation. He unconsciously felt his ears and the back of his neck heat up when he discovered that it was Momoi who had called out his name.

"Shougo-kun, is that your cat?" Momoi asked, looking completely oblivious, as if seeing Haizaki affectionately petting a cat was an everyday thing. He scowled back at her, hoping to intimidate her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied stubbornly, moving his broad body so that it covered the cat. Momoi gave him a look of disbelief.

"You were definitely playing with that cat," she told him, stepping to the side so she could see it again. It eagerly gazed up at her, waving its long tail around. With the look it was giving her, she couldn't help but bend down in front of it and begin playing with it.

"Did the bad man scare you?" Momoi asked teasingly, gingerly stroking the cat, which happily leaned into her gentle touch. Haizaki glared sternly at her, but said nothing at the remark.

"Shougo-kun, do you like cats?" The girl questioned, which instantly swiped off the glare from his face. His expression was instead replaced with embarrassment, before the cross stare quickly returned.

"They're annoying," he snapped back, glowering at the cat. The cat, in turn, gave him a curious look, wondering why he now refused to pet him. It stepped back towards him and rubbed its furry cheek against the male's leg. Haizaki sighed as he patted the top of its head.

"…Shut up," Haizaki told Momoi the moment she had opened her mouth to speak. She smiled, watching as he hesitantly started to play with the cat again.

**000**

"…Do you think cats…like this?" Haizaki questioned in a sort of whisper, embarrassed as he held up a can of cat food. Momoi honestly didn't know much about cats, but she gave him an optimistic smile and nodded.

"I'm sure he'll like it," the girl told him, watching in amusement as his cheeks reddened. He hastily stuffed the can of cat food into his pockets before anyone else could see it and stalked off to the locker room, refusing to say anything else to her.

Haizaki practiced for only about twenty minutes before glancing over at the clock and going back in to change. Momoi heard Aomine comment that Haizaki was much quieter today than usual. She hid her smile behind her clipboard before sneaking off towards the back of the gym.

It was very easy to spot him, fumbling around with the can of cat food and a can opener. The gray cat was in front of him, eagerly tapping its nose against the can. He scowled at it. "I'll open it once you back off," he told it with a short sigh. He never knew that opening a can of food could be so difficult.

"Need help, Shougo-kun?" The pink-haired girl chirped, causing him to jolt in surprise. He turned around, glaring at her.

"You again," he sighed. Nonetheless, he tossed her the cat food and handed her the can opener. Part of the top had already been crudely torn open, she noticed with a muffled giggle.

"There we go," Momoi said gently as she placed the opened can on the floor. The cat happily bounded over to it, nibbling a few pieces before finally digging in. Momoi was almost sure that she saw a look of relief pass over Haizaki's face.

**000**

A few days later, it turned out that the gray cat actually belonged to one of Momoi's homeroom classmates. She referred the classmate over to Haizaki who, very reluctantly, led her to the cat's usual hang out at the back of the gym. Momoi had been with Haizaki when the girl took her cat back. The girl gratefully thanked them before leaving with the cat.

Momoi wasn't sure how affected Haizaki was by the whole ordeal, but it was obvious that he had taken a liking to the cat. "Maybe you should…adopt a cat?" She suggested during the next day's practice, trying to sound helpful. He glanced down at her, frowning.

After that, the man had grumpily stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked off somewhere, silently.

A week later, Momoi discovered that Haizaki had actually taken her advice. She had overheard Haizaki's friends mocking him playfully about the fact that he had adopted a kitten and named it 'Peach.' When Momoi teasingly confronted him on the matter, he immediately claimed that the name had absolutely nothing to do with her. Of course, the look on his face said otherwise.

**A/N: Yay for obscure ships. Now it's back to working on YAI, which I haven't updated in what seems like forever. **

**Thanks for reading! **


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